“level up” from an iron lozenge snaffle?

[dottylottie]

looking for something with a bit more brakes for diva, i gave her a grace period with being a baby and not knowing any better, but now she absolutely does know better and just chooses to run off with me!

foot perfect our whole hack, walking on the buckle, but as soon as we get on grass she’s off! she doesn’t even throw her head up or grab the bit and lean on me, she just blindly ignores me and buggars off not ideal when we’re showing on grass on sunday!

she’s still inconsistent in the contact so i don’t want to go overboard and make her reluctant, but i do need something she’s going to respect. ideally would like to keep the loose rings if possible for showing but also because i don’t want to give her something to lean on!

I have obviously debated a bit fitter, but as we only have this issue on grass i’m not sure how effective it’ll be. she’s quiet in the mouth, doesn’t mess but foams up nicely

ETA: she has quite a low “smile” but as far as mouth conformation that’s all i can say, i think she’s got a big tongue but without looking in all the other horses i’m not sure for comparison

 

[Roxylola]

Bomber elliptical?

 

[blitznbobs]

Cheltenham gag … with two reins.

Ride as normal in the snaffle with the gag rein there when she is rude

 

[SpeedyPony]

Single jointed mouthpiece? Or the same mouthpiece with d-rings/full cheeks so that it's easier to get her on a circle? I've found that making horses that are inclined to bog off in open spaces circle until they're under control and then doing a good schooling session tends to put them off the idea. You could probably swap back once she's realised open spaces = having to concentrate and work hard.

 

[dottylottie]

Cheltenham gag … with two reins.

Ride as normal in the snaffle with the gag rein there when she is rude

needs to be suitable for novice showing classes, otherwise i like this suggestion!

I must say i’m not very clued up on bits, i’ve always just used snaffles haha

 

[dottylottie]

Single jointed mouthpiece? Or the same mouthpiece with d-rings/full cheeks so that it's easier to get her on a circle? I've found that making horses that are inclined to bog off in open spaces circle until they're under control and then doing a good schooling session tends to put them off the idea. You could probably swap back once she's realised open spaces = having to concentrate and work hard.

i’ve tried her in a single jointed mouthpiece which she didn’t like, and i did have her in a full cheek with the same mouth piece before moving to this one - i can turn her, but unfortunately our fast work hacking is limited to straight lines that i can get away with without leaving hoof prints on the football pitches, or a thin woodland track that’s very short.

I tried to make her do some transitions today to get her listening, but by the time i got her to stop we were at the end anyway…it’s making it not fun, i’m having to really psyche myself up just to canter!

 

[blitznbobs]

needs to be suitable for novice showing classes, otherwise i like this suggestion!

I must say i’m not very clued up on bits, i’ve always just used snaffles haha

Wilkie

BUT

I would be tempted to train it out of her using the gag option shouldn’t take that long

 

[dottylottie]

Wilkie

this was my first thought, but my mum said there’s talk of them being banned from snaffle classes! if we can get away with it for the season hopefully she’ll realise it’s not worth the effort anymore haha


I have a rubber pelham in her size that i could use to train her out of it if she gets on with it, similar in the sense i can drop the bottom rein unless i need it

 

[SpeedyPony]

i’ve tried her in a single jointed mouthpiece which she didn’t like, and i did have her in a full cheek with the same mouth piece before moving to this one - i can turn her, but unfortunately our fast work hacking is limited to straight lines that i can get away with without leaving hoof prints on the football pitches, or a thin woodland track that’s very short.

I tried to make her do some transitions today to get her listening, but by the time i got her to stop we were at the end anyway…it’s making it not fun, i’m having to really psyche myself up just to canter!

Ah, that's a nuisance! Narrow tracks are no fun with a tank. I've had some luck with asking them to flex around my leg (sort of like a shoulder in) before they have a chance to get out of walk or trot- but it's not always easy to catch them before they get up to speed! Are there any open fields that you could borrow for a bit of schooling?
If she's not a fan of the single joint, could you play around with different links? A french link or a roller link?

 

[dottylottie]

Ah, that's a nuisance! Narrow tracks are no fun with a tank. I've had some luck with asking them to flex around my leg (sort of like a shoulder in) before they have a chance to get out of walk or trot- but it's not always easy to catch them before they get up to speed! Are there any open fields that you could borrow for a bit of schooling?
If she's not a fan of the single joint, could you play around with different links? A french link or a roller link?

i’ve tried a bit of leg yielding in trot which helps a little bit, but she’s still so green that it’s not effective any faster! a roller link may be an idea, i’ve found no difference between the lozenge that she has and a french link

the goal would be to go back to the snaffle, but i definitely need some help in the interim, i can only hope she plays ball on sunday with it being a much smaller space

ETA: love the name by the way, maybe we can share it?!

 

[SpeedyPony]

i’ve tried a bit of leg yielding in trot which helps a little bit, but she’s still so green that it’s not effective any faster! a roller link may be an idea, i’ve found no difference between the lozenge that she has and a french link

the goal would be to go back to the snaffle, but i definitely need some help in the interim, i can only hope she plays ball on sunday with it being a much smaller space

ETA: love the name by the way, maybe we can share it?!

Haha thanks- it was inspired by the old boy who was initially less than mannerly about his desire for speed! He did learn to be much more polite about it though- he'll now just keep asking to go faster, rather than making the decision unilaterally
I must confess, I never got him to the point of hunting in a snaffle, he likes to put his head up when he tanks so I used a Kimblewick and for fast work on hacks he has a Kineton noseband + copper roller- I don't think that noseband would be acceptable for a show though?